#ryomaelise

Finally he raised his gaze to meet Xander’s confused eyes. Understanding flew into the nohrian prince’s mind. “You speak of marriage.” He stated. Not a month previous, Prince Leo had come to ask Lord Ryoma for Princess Sakura’s hand, so the memory was still fresh in both elder siblings’ hearts.

Ryoma nodded. “Indeed I do, Prince Xander.”

Oh, Xander thought, Camilla ought to have told me about this. I would have had accepted it the moment she would mention. Before the prince could open his mouth to voice his thoughts, Ryoma continued:

“I seek to ask your youngest sister’s hand in marriage, Prince Xander.” He lowered his head in a bow, “I want you to give Princess Elise to me.”

Xander choked. "Elise?! Preposterous." He shook his head. "I did not take you for a man of jokes, Prince Ryoma. And this is not funny."

"It is not a jape, I assure you, Prince Xander. Your youngest sister has taken ahold of my heart like I never thought possible." Ryoma looked directly into Xander's eyes, though the fond smile on his lips showed that his thoughts were elsewhere -- into his memories with the small princess.

Xander's frown deepened as Ryoma straightened his back; both of his hands over his thighs.

To give... his little sister... to that- that ogre?! Xander felt a deep disgust flowing in, very much wanting to impale the man before him; their previous clashes at opposing sides of the battlefield clouding his judgement even more.

"Our kingdoms are already joined by two marriages," Ryoma kept talking despite the nohrian prince's inner turmoil, "I think that further strengthening these bonds through another union would be beneficial to all of our people."

"Absolutely not," were Xander's first words, his shoulders shaking with rage. How dare he mention using little Elise as a political tool! Xander and his siblings had raised her so she could be a free princess in a warless world; not to receive such cold and rushed proposal from someone so unlike any other Xander had dreamed for his little sister. His stomach turned. "The only marriage uniting our nations is Leo's and Princess Sakura's, Prince Ryoma. I have to remind you that Kamui is not your blood sister as you had claimed before."

The animosity seethed out of Xander into Ryoma, and the swordmaster's blood began to boil as he clenched his fists so as to keep himself from doing anything brash. "She has been with us since she was a child--"

"This is not about my wife, Prince Ryoma." Xander suddenly got up, not wanting the hostility between him and the hoshidan prince to bring about another war, but finding little choice in the matter should Ryoma insist on spiriting his baby sister away. "It is about my refusal to your proposal. Elise is young, naive and most certainly not ready to be a Queen of a foreign and previously hostile land. I will not hand her over to you."

It took all Ryoma had not to confront Nohr's Crown Prince at eye level, but he managed to remain on his seiza. For precious Elise, he would bow down his head. "I understand your concerns, Prince Xander, and trust me on that." He narrowed his eyes, remembering the day Leo had come to propose to Sakura. "However, I will not accept a refusal. I shall come back with the same question no matter how long it takes for you to accept it. I truly love your sister and I will stop at nothing to have Nohr's future King's blessing on our union."

Love her?! Xander thought, his insides turning, how can he talk about love when all he's doing is taking away the brightest light Nohr has ever had -- the guiding post for the dark years of their young days? "I'm afraid my answer will remain the same, Prince Ryoma," he managed to say despite the bile rising up to his throat. "I know what is best for my little sister and I will not--"

"Stop that, Big Brother!" Elise shouted from the place that once was the door to the cathedral -- now a hole very much resembling a cave-in.

"Elise?!" Xander hissed, narrowing his eyes to the approaching girl. "Get back at once. I have nothing else to say regarding this matter."

Her cheeks puffed, Elise trotted towards the kneeling prince, putting one hand over his shoulder.

Ryoma's body immediately relaxed, as though her presence alone had sucked away the anger and animosity feeding inside of him. Indeed, he thought, if it is for her, no sacrifice is big enough.

On the other hand, Xander's clenched fist trembled due to the strength he used on them. Elise was barely two heads taller than Ryoma while he kneeled! She cannot be a bride, even if she already has reached marriageable age more than one year ago.

"Don't bully Ryoma, Big Brother!" She clutched her hand over the big shoulder, stomping her foot on the ground. "Why can't you give your permission?! I-I know I'm not smart, but I know that if Ryoma's with me, I can become a good Queen; honest I can!"

No honorifics. 'If he's with me'. Xander's heart beat wildly over his ears, his sight blurring. "My answer is final. You do not know what is best for you yet, Elise. Such fleeting feelings will wear off once you are back home."

"They're NOT fleeting!" She yelled, her lips trembling as her eyes welled up. "You keep treating me like a kid, but I know better! I understand more than you know, Big Brother." She sniffled, her whole body shaking. She'd never thought she would talk back to Xander of all people. "Why can't I follow my heart when even you and Big Sister did?" She spoke of the day Xander and Kamui made a public speech about their relationship.

About how they have been hiding their love for so long; how they just wanted to be with each other and have their siblings' blessings.

How the love they felt overcame even the so-called betrayal of Kamui's after she refused to go back home -- how Xander saw the wrong in his ways for doubting her for even one second.

The memory made Xander press his lips into a thin line, his frown wavering between sadness and anger. Elise sobbed, looking down to her brother's feet. "I was so happy when I found out that Sakura was going to be my sister... that my family had grown." She hiccupped and Ryoma used his kimono’s sleeve to dry her face -- something Xander used to do when they were young.

Inadvertently, Ryoma used his free hand to pat Elise on the back, encouraging her to let out everything that was inside her heart. Xander's shrunk.

He was the one who used to pat Elise's back as a child. Even as a baby.

"Can't I just..." Elise sobbed, though now looking directly to her brother due to the encouragement from her beloved (her legs and hands still trembled, however), "can't I just... follow my heart like you did and live the beautiful love I know," she glanced at Ryoma and, after he nodded, blushed a little, "I know I'll have?"

Xander suddenly felt small; the woman before him so much like his baby sister, but oh so very different. He hardened his chin and turned around to leave through the chancel where another broken wall led towards the outside world. "I need to be alone for a while." He said before leaving, his thoughts heavy, though his feet heavier.

"Big Brother--" Elise reached out, intent on following, but Ryoma's hand on her waist made her stop. She pursed her lips and clutched her heart, looking from her brother's back to her beloved's eyes. "Ryoma..."

"Thank you for standing up for me, Butterfly." He caressed her face, drying her cheeks with the back of his hand and thumb. "However, I still need to have your brother's permission for us to wed."

The princess sniffed, lowering her face so her forehead touched her beloved's, her hands on both of his shoulders. "I understand my duties as a p-princess," she started, "I know that, after F-Father, Xander's the one who has to choose a husband for me... But my coming of age ceremony came and went and he didn't mention anything."

Ryoma, still kneeling, turned his body to his princess, wrapping both arms around her waist, a bitter smile over his lips. "I can sort of understand his reasons."

"Eh?" Elise pulled away, her big, round eyes filled with confusion, the tears they shed still making them shine. "What'd you mean?"

He placed a few stray strands of hair behind Elise's ears, watching how her cheeks reddened with his actions. "Remember when Prince Leo came to me to ask for Sakura's hand?" He asked and she nodded, a smile growing on her face. The time she found out she was going to have another sister. Ryoma looked from her to the world around them -- the broken cathedral, the holes in the ceiling making beams of light illuminate the countless shards of the stained glass; the bittersweet smile still over his lips. "And that I took one week to reply?"

"Oh!" Elise took one hand to her mouth. "That's right; I forgot about that..."

"Heh," Ryoma gave a mirthless laugh. "I could not get used to the idea of having my baby sister away from me. I asked Saizo and Kagero to stalk Prince Leo and his retainers and to report everything they saw to me; I had talk after talk with Sakura about the nohrian ways and even about how the climate over there is different from what we are used to." He looked at the destroyed statue of the Forgotten God, not really seeing it. "But my sister can be surprisingly stubborn, like all of us hoshidan royals. She stood her ground and even said she would never forgive me if I forbade her from marrying the man she loved."

"No way!" Elise gasped. "Sakura did?"

"Imagine!" Ryoma turned back to her, caressing her back with one hand, using the other to hold hers into his. "I was feeling lonely because the little girl I watched grow up was eager to leave the nest and I kept holding myself to the past." He bobbed his head to where Xander had walked out from, making Elise follow his gaze to it. "I am certain that Prince Xander is feeling the same at this moment."

"Lonely? Big Brother? Because of me?" Flabbergasted, Elise couldn't believe it. He had been so distant the past few years; why would he even want her around him that much if not as only a princess of Nohr?

"Indeed. I can affirm it with conviction." Ryoma nodded, a warm smile growing over his lips. "You should go see for yourself, Butterfly. Go talk to him -- but not about his refusal, no. I can handle that myself; but about the past. About you; about him; about the beautiful flowers growing on that hill."

Elise's eyes welled up again. She had always wanted to play with Xander like in the old times, but was always afraid of bothering him while he was busy. "W-will he really listen to me?"

"He will. I promise you." He took her small hand to his lips and kissed it, his other hand pushing her towards the chancel right after. "I will leave him for today, but I shall ask for your hand again until he gives his permission, my beautiful Butterfly."

She blushed, scaring away the tears. He had started calling her that after she had braided his hair with flowers, and it still made her heart race. "T-thank you, Ryoma." She threw herself on his arms, squeezing his neck in a quick embrace. "I'll go talk to my brother now!"

Xander's feet took him nowhere in particular, though he found himself on his way to his sister's quarters. Camilla was enjoying the shade of a great oak while she read a book Kamui had lent to her two days previous when she felt her brother's presence and raised her gaze.

She took off the reading glasses she wore and smiled. "Why, Brother, what do I owe the honor? I see you are displeased with something." She carefully placed the book and glasses over her shawl, close to the tree, and put herself on her feet.

"Did you know?" He stomped towards her, the huff on his breath having not to do with the walk he had just took. Camilla tilted her head in confusion and took one finger to her chin. Xander didn't wait for her question. "Did you know that Elise was in love with Prince Ryoma? He just asked me for her hand."

"Oh dear gods, I did not know!" She took one hand to her mouth in surprise, the braid she wore sliding from her shoulder to her back. "My goodness, he will break her in half..."

Xander audibly groaned, putting both hands on his face and stretching them towards his chin, pulling the skin with them. "Gods, Camilla, I hadn't thought of that! Now this will haunt me to the grave."

The purple-haired princess giggled, waving her hand so as to dismiss his worry. "Please; we both know Elise does not have much more to grow. You do remember how tall-- that is to say, how short her mother was."

Groaning again, Xander pressed the bridge between his eyes and squeezed them, trying to pull away from the mental image. "Indeed. Elizandra was the shortest of Father's concubines. But I beg of you, enough of this topic."

Camilla raised both hands in defeat. "My lips are sealed." Then, she crossed her arms, fondly smiling. "I'll be. Little Elise's found The One for her already. It seems like it was yesterday when we first held her in our arms."

Thankful for the slight change of view of the same topic, Xander sighed, shifting the weight of his body to another leg. "Indeed. And I was the first one to ever hold her in my arms."

He had been there during the birthing -- and held baby Elise when her mother refused to as she called for Garon's name. Camilla had been waiting right outside and heard the first cry. "You were the age she is now when the responsibility of raising a child -- your sibling -- fell on your shoulders."

Xander flashed a melancholic smile to his sister, the memories making him refuse to see reality. "On both of our shoulders, Sister. I am glad you were my partner to see through Elise's and Leo's upbringing."

"Which is why you are here at this moment, I figure?" She put one hand over his chest. "Because your heart wavered before Prince Ryoma's proposal?"

His frown deepened. "I know what is best for our family, Camilla. Elise is not ready to become a Queen; she hasn't studied enough; prepared herself enough for the pressure, nor--"

"But this isn't about her being a Queen, is it? I'm certain you'd react the same way should, say, Silas proposed to her. Am I right?"

He closed his mouth and hardened his jaw. Was that so bad? Little Elise couldn't have grown up that much -- she was still as small as she was when he first held her!

"You want to keep her close, even though she has already grown wings and is eager to fly away towards her own path." Camilla patted her brother's chest, her own feeling the same, though in a lesser scale.

Xander's chin trembled. He had raised Elise so she could live in a warless world. So she could be free.

And now she's using her freedom to choose where she wants to go.

"But how-- how can I?" He mumbled his thoughts, though Camilla caught on to where they were going. She wrapped her arms around his back and patted it.

"She'll study. She will learn. And she'll always have us to go back to if the pressure is too much." Camilla closed her eyes, letting her warmth go through her brother. He hugged her back, needing the support. "She'll always be our baby sister and we can just make excuses to do excursions to Hoshido." She winked after they pulled away. "Well, you can make the excuses. I know I'll fly to her whenever I feel lonely."

"Hah," Xander let out a chuckle, patting her shoulder so as to thank her for the hug. "Then I will be left sister-less in Nohr. You were always so attached to the young ones."

Camilla threw her head back in laughter. "Oh, please, Brother. I am also attached to you, of course. I can see myself as a traveling princess: One week in Nohr; one week in Hoshido. Truly the epitome of peace."

Both siblings smiled with the thoughts -- the war ever still in the back of their minds as Valla Castle approached in the horizon -- and exchanged a meaningful gaze full of their memories, promises, battles and bonds. The princess squeezed her brother's hands in both of hers, showing her support not only through her eyes but through her actions.

They would always be a family, no matter how far away from each other.

A set of muffled footsteps made its way into both royal's ears and Xander needn't turn around to see who they belonged to. Camilla's smile widened as she walked with open arms towards the girl running to them.

"Big Sister!" Elise exclaimed, huffing for breath due to the exercise. "I didn't know you were here!" She jumped into Camilla's arms, who spun her little sister around with a giggle, putting her right beside Xander.

"Oh? But I knew exactly where you were." Camilla booped Elise's nose and kissed her forehead. Although she wanted to cuddle the young princess and ask all about Prince Ryoma, she simply glanced to their older brother. "But now's not the time, hm? I think you two need to talk." She passed by in the middle of her siblings, touching both of their shoulders before bending down to get her book, shawl and glasses. "I'll be waiting in my tent, Elise. Let's sleep in together like in the old times, hm?"

Surprised, Elise looked from her brother to her sister before hopping. "Really?! Yay! I'll go, I'll go!" She waved as Camilla left, looking forward to the older princess' cuddles.

Her heart started beating faster after Camilla was already out of sight in that immense land that was Valla -- all the way towards camp, down the hill. She meekly glanced at Xander, and his gaze meeting hers made her flinch.

But she wouldn't back down. She turned to him and breathed in. "Xander, I--"

An unexpected pat on her head made her stop. "I saw a flowery hill not too far from here and I was wondering if you could accompany me there." He said with a warm tone -- one he hasn't used in so long -- getting her by surprise.

A bubbly feeling sprang up in her chest and her eyes itched; but her mouth smiled widely. "Can we, really?! The flowers there are amaaaaaaazing! They make such good crowns!"

"Hm," Xander looked up, in thought, before reaching for his own crown and taking it off. "Would you help me decorate this, then? I feel that it is rather dull in such a colorful land that it's Valla."

Elise gasped, hesitatingly taking the crown as it was handed to her. "Can I?" She whispered before the eagerness took ahold of her. "Can I really?!" She beamed and stormed off without waiting for the reply, pulling her brother by his hand.

She couldn't see the lonely yet happy smile he flashed behind her back as he finally looked at her like the woman she was for the first time since they were young -- her hand, although small, was so much bigger than the first time he held it.

"Of course, but I have a condition." He said as they made their way to the hill. Elise stopped, her chest going up and down due to the effort. Her flushed face smiled.

"What is it?"

"The path is steep and full of rocks," he looked around to the damaged ground, finding an excuse to hide his real intention. "Allow me to carry you there so you won't hurt yourself, Little Sister."

She hesitated, the smile frozen on her lips. He saw the color leaving her face as she slowly let go of his hand. Before he could panic, his heart already hurting from seeing her like that, her eyes watered once again.

"C-can I really...?" She whispered, looking down.

It had been her most fervent wish for so long. To just have him put her over his shoulders and run around like in the old times; laughing alongside her. She knew that, as the Crown Prince, he couldn't afford to show such displays of silliness so she never asked. But now... could she be allowed to wish for that? Could her beloved brother come back and play with her just one more time?

Xander saw the shift of emotions in her face -- she smiled, pouted and held back her tears at the same time. She was so grown up -- locking away her own desires just to suit his needs. He reached out to her and lifted her chin.

"Of course you can."

She sniffled, too happy to word her feelings. "C-CAN YOU--" she almost shouted due to the excitement. "Can you put me on shoulders?!" She yelled, looking down and huffing.

The sound she heard made her head immediately spring back up -- Xander laughed for a moment!

He laughed! Big Brother did! She thought, the tears once again running across her face.

Xander extended his hands, urging her to come to him. "Of course. Come here."

She didn't hesitate this time. Elise threw herself on her brother's arms and squeezed his neck with a quick sob. Unused to how one puts another on their shoulders, Xander first picked Elise up on his arms before just twirling her over his head.

In that brief moment, Xander could finally see how much she had grown.

She did not fit in one arm anymore; her hand wasn't as big as his index either. She had grown and matured. Her laughter still had the same effect, however, and it thrilled him to hear it as she held his forehead for support once he started walking.